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Preview: Road game against undefeated foe is the next challenge for the KU football season at the end of the season

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AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

Kansas players run onto the field for an NCAA college football game against Iowa State on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo.

The Kansas football team, and more specifically its cornerback Cobee Bryant, gave BYU a rude awakening last season when the Jayhawks welcomed the Cougars to the Big 12 for their first game in the league.

During BYU’s second offensive game at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, Bryant, listed at 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds, pinned wide receiver Parker Kingston on an end-around with one of the biggest hits by any Jayhawk in recent memory. Kingston fumbled, Bryant got it back for a score, and although BYU led at halftime, that play set the tone for KU’s eventual 38-27 victory.

Last year, a few more teams beat BYU much worse, and the Cougars finished 5-7.

This year’s team is not the same.

The BYU squad that welcomes KU to LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday at 9:15 p.m. Central Time — yes, it’s the Big 12 After Dark timeslot — is undefeated, ranked No. 6 in the country, and just keeps finding ways to win in unlikely cases. situations.

“It actually started off on the wrong foot,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said of the 2023 game against KU, “and we know we could have played better than what we did against them. Now they are coming to our house, and we welcome the opportunity to play them again.”

KU head coach Lance Leipold called the Cougars “probably our best opponent of the season so far.”

“I think that program, after our game last year, talked about what needed to be done to probably be a better Big 12 team, and I think they wanted to address their physicality, and it’s very clear that they have done,” he says. This was told by journalists on Monday.

The well-rounded Cougars are No. 2 in the Big 12 in scoring offense and No. 3 in scoring defense. They’re especially strong against the pass, holding opponents to 176.9 yards per game (though Iowa State was doing even better than before Jalon Daniels’ 234-yard, two-touchdown first half in KU’s win over the Cyclones last week ) and intercepted a league-leading 16 passes.

A big part of the Cougars’ continued championship positioning is Jake Retzlaff, who in his first year as a full-time starter has thrown for 2,091 yards with 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions, totaling 291 rushing yards and another four scores on 71 carries . That makes him No. 5 in the league in total offense. He throws to big-name targets like Chase Roberts and Darius Lassiter (son of Kwamie) and hands it off to a slew of running backs.

“I don’t think there’s a position of weakness where they’re not meeting the requirements,” defensive coordinator Brian Borland said.

Three of BYU’s top-rated defensive players on Pro Football Focus are cornerbacks in Marque Collins, Evan Johnson and Jakob Robinson, as Collins and Robinson have also played the most defense for the Cougars among defensive players this year.

Leipold also highlighted BYU’s special teams; in fact, the Cougars have returned two punts and one punt for touchdowns this year. He said they “do all the things that make teams that have opportunities to compete for championships what they are.”

AP Foto-/Spenserhopen

BYU wide receiver Darius Lassiter (5) runs the ball for a touchdown in the final seconds of the second half of an NCAA college football game, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, in Provo, Utah.

AP Foto-/Spenserhopen

BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff passes in the first half of an NCAA college football game against Utah, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, in Salt Lake City.

No. 6 BYU Cougars (9-0, 6-0 Big 12) vs. Kansas Jayhawks (3-6, 2-4 Big 12)

• LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, Utah, 9:15 PM Central Time

• Broadcast: ESPN

• Radio: Jayhawk Radio Network (in Lawrence, KLWN AM 1320 / K269GB FM 101.7 / KKSW FM 105.9)

• Betting line: BYU-2.5; above/under 56.5

• Series history: KU leads 2-0

Keep an eye on things

1. Grimes Bowl I: Two of KU’s last three games, both this week and the Nov. 30 date at Baylor, are against teams whose current head coaches once employed Jeff Grimes as their offensive coordinator. Grimes spent three seasons as offensive coordinator under Sitake, from 2018 to 2020, before leaving for Baylor. Sitake said he expects Grimes’ involvement in the game to be a flop: “I think it will help both parties. He knows a little bit about our plan and we know a little bit about his background.” For his part, Grimes cited his “deep respect and strong positive feelings” for much of the BYU staff, as well as his experience on both sides of the “rough” environment at LaVell Edwards Stadium; at Baylor in 2022, he went there and had a potential game-winning drive in double overtime, ruined by a pair of false starts in a goal-to-go situation. He said the KU staff and players have talked about what to expect.

2. Go for it: A stat that doesn’t look particularly good for KU when it’s in a close game in Provo: The Jayhawks are 14th out of 16 teams in the league in fourth-ranked opponent conversion rate, as they outscore foes 10- have let up 15, while BYU leads the league in fourth downs on offense (16-for-20, 80%). Add to that BYU’s recent performances in the games against Utah and Oklahoma State, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, as well as KU’s struggles within the two-minute warning, and these trends could make for some tough late- game moments can provide for the Jayhawks. .

3. Save this: Cole Ballard suffered an apparent injury during the Sunflower Showdown at Kansas State after Grimes briefly tried to involve him in a small package of plays, including a carry for six yards. True freshman Isaiah Marshall was listed on KU’s depth chart Monday as a backup to Daniels, with Leipold describing Ballard as questionable and stating he is going through a “throwing program.” That means Marshall, who Leipold has praised for his poise and calm demeanor, would be next in line if anything were to happen to Daniels — or if Grimes just felt like experimenting again somehow by giving a strange look throwing at the Cougars’ defense. .

In the spotlight…

Calvin Clements: The redshirt freshman offensive tackle and Lawrence native took some time to get up to speed after an offseason injury, and briefly found himself in a rotational role along KU’s offensive line, periodically playing Logan Brown spelled. But that rotation was dropped after KU’s first bye week in early October, and Clements remained largely on the bench until an injury to starting left tackle Bryce Cabeldue on Saturday against ISU. Now he’s accused of protecting Daniels’ blind side and will likely have to do so at BYU as Leipold has labeled Cabeldue questionable. BYU isn’t an elite pass-rushing team and Clements already has experience as a starter in the 2023 Guaranteed Rate Bowl, but this could easily be his most extensive action since then.

Within the numbers

93.0: Tight end Trevor Kardell’s PFF grade from the ISU game, the second-highest single-game grade for any Jayhawks all season.

29.2: BYU’s Keelan Marion’s average distance per kick return, which is the best in the Big 12.

1: There is only one player from Utah on KU’s roster: Tevita Ahoafi-Noa, a reserve blocking tight end from Salt Lake City who has seen more playing time this season.

Prediction

BYU wins 31-30. There are some good reasons to like the Jayhawks in this game: They’re playing their best football of the season and doing so with a greater sense of urgency than ever before as they look to qualify for the long shot bowl. Meanwhile, BYU pulls off a tumultuous, emotional victory over its biggest rival.

But KU faces some uncomfortable indicators entering this game: its past performance in these road night games in the western part of the country (last year at Nevada, this year at Arizona State), the relatively poor coverage on the field against the Cyclones, BYU’s ability to scratch and claw their way to victories and of course the simple fact that KU is 3-6 and the Cougars are undefeated.

BYU has pulled back close games time and time again. KU didn’t do that. With the home crowd on their side, the Cougars won’t let this go easily.